3rd Person POV with Bruce

The group consisting of Tony, Steve, Bruce, & Scott landed in the year 2012 when the Chitauri attacked New York and their pasts selves were readying to fight when they appeared in an alley a few streets down.

"All right, we all have our assignments. Two Stones uptown, one Stone down. Stay low. Keep an eye on the clock." Steve directed everyone as their suits dematerialized from around them right before their attention was caught by Past Hulk smashing anything that got in his way including a car whose wheels he tossed at a Chitauri soldier before stomping on the rest of the car and running off.

Bruce put a hand to his face in embarrassment before Steve told him,

"Feel free to smash a few things along the way."

"I think it's gratuitous, but whatever." Bruce tore off his shirt before pretending to smash things while "roaring" sarcastically and tossing a motorbike away before he proceeded to his target; The New York Sanctum Sanctorum.

When he made it to the roof of the Sanctum he was about to head inside through a door when he heard someone tell him,

"I'd be careful going that way. We just had the floors waxed."

And he turned to see the Past Sorcerer Supreme, The Ancient One, standing there watching him cautiously as he told her,

"I'm looking for Doctor Strange."

"You're about... five years too early. Stephen Strange is currently performing surgery about twenty blocks that way." The Ancient One pointed away from the battle before asking, "What do you want from him?"

"That, actually." He pointed to the Eye of Agamotto around the Ancient One's neck before she spoke,

"Ah! I'm afraid not."

"Sorry, but I wasn't asking." Bruce spoke seriously as he walked toward her as she warned,

"You don't wanna do this..."

"Ah, you're right, I don't. But I need that stone, and I don't have time to beat it-" Bruce made a move to take the Eye from The Ancient One but with a quick strike to his chest she managed to force his astral form out of his body and his body fell to the ground unconscious as his astral form looked at her in surprise.

"Let's start over, shall we?"

After a moment where Bruce asked for the Time Stone as the Ancient One had moved Bruce's body to the side on a beach chair with a hat over his face to look less conspicuous, she had refused and Bruce tried to reason with her,

"Please, please!"

"I'm sorry, I can't help you, Bruce. If I give up the Time Stone to help your reality, I'm dooming my own." She argued.

"With all due respect, I'm not sure the science really supports that."

With a sweeping wave of her hand, a long ray of yellow light is created between the two of them with the six Infinity Stones circling in a ring around it as The Ancient One began to explain,

"The Infinity Stones create what you experience as the flow of time. Remove one stone and that flow splits." She flicks away the Time Stone projection and a black stream appears where it was, diverging away from the main streak, "Now, this may benefit your reality, but my new one...not so much. In this new branched Reality, without our chief weapon against the forces of darkness, our world will be overrun. Millions will suffer. So, tell me, Doctor, can your science prevent all that?"

"No, but we can erase it. Because once we are done with the stones, we can return each one to its own timeline at the moment it was taken. So, chronologically," He took the Time Stone projection in his hands, "-in that reality," He put it back in place with the other Infinity Stone projections and the black path disappeared, "-it never left."

"But you are leaving out the most important part. In order to return the stones, you have to survive." The Ancient One still wasn't convinced by Bruce's theory and he begged,

"We will. I will. I promise."

"I can't risk this Reality on a promise. It is the duty of the Sorcerer Supreme to protect the Time Stone."

"Then, why the hell did Strange give it away?"

There was a slight pause before The Ancient One asked in surprise,

"What did you say?"

"Strange, he gave it away. He gave it to Thanos."

"Willingly?"

"Yes!"

"...Why?"

"I have no idea. Maybe he made a mistake."

The Ancient One got close to Bruce's astral form before whispering,

"Or I did..."

Making him look at her confused until she reached over his shoulder and made a hand motion that made his body float over to them and pushed his astral form back into it before she made the motion to open the Eye of Agamotto and reveal the Time Stone before taking it out to say,

"Strange is meant to be the best of us."

"So he must have done it for a reason." Bruce deduced.

"I fear you might be right." The Ancient One gave him the Time Stone.

"Thank you."

"I'm counting on you, Bruce..." The Ancient One put a hand on Bruce's arm as she spoke urgently almost desperately, "We all are..."

"AAAAAHHH!" They both turned to see a fiery red blur falling toward them and the Ancient One summoned a rune shield to stop them and they dropped to the ground on their stomach revealing Past Ash.

"Ash...?" Bruce spoke quietly as she dragged herself to her hands and knees to look up at him before questioning,

"Bruce?"

"Right first name basis still and not supposed to have a good vocabulary uhhh... Hulk want to smash bad puny aliens.." Bruce realized, missing how Ash calls him Dad, before making the second realization that he was exposing the future and tried and failed poorly to mimic his past other self's mannerisms but Past Ash just raised her eyebrow and asked as she picked herself up,

"Do you honestly think I would be so easily fooled?"

"Even I have to admit that was really bad..." The Ancient One muttered from the side right before Past Ash caught sight of the Time Stone in his hand and took a step back as she demanded,

"What is that?!"

"Uhhh..." Bruce was at a loss, not really wanting to lie to his adoptive daughter, even if it was just a past version of her who couldn't be told the truth that he was from the future.

Luckily, the Ancient One seemed to know what to do as she drew some energy from the Time Stone and sent it in a wave to Past Ash making her freeze in her tracks.

"Woah!" Bruce was more than a little shocked at the action as he waved a hand in front of her face and asked, "Is this gonna become a paradox of some kind?"

"Yes and no." The Ancient One told him and continued when she saw his confused expression, "She was supposed to show up here before reuniting with you and the rest of your team so that I could give her the Failsafe."

"What 'Failsafe?'"

"Much to you and the Guardian's chagrin, I foresee her and her sister being key parts in reviving their home world but because of a complication I foresaw but couldn't quite focus on, all Chrysintheans were wiped out of existence and, without your help, they wouldn't make it to their destiny. I'm supposed to give her a spell that will keep her and her sister safe by locking them in time instead of being wiped out with the rest of their people."

"You're the one who saved them?"

"Eventually Strange will be told of all this and will be tasked with keeping an especially close eye on any Chrysintheans residing here on Earth as there are many who wish to keep the peace but others not so much and their connection with the Stones proves them to be... unpredictable..."

"Like who?"

"I'm afraid I can't reveal that... spoilers and all that." She gave a rueful smile at the last part of her sentence.

With another hand motion, a rune made of green light was sent flying toward Past Ash's core before disappearing into it and she was unfrozen before she took off flying toward the Tower without another word.

"Don't worry, she won't remember a thing..." The Ancient One assured Bruce as he breathed a sigh of relief and gave her an appreciative nod before activating his suit.

1463 Words

AN- Guess who just got back from spending a week and a half in Mexico but also managed to work on this chapter? This geek right here!

I'm so not ready to write the next chapter... :,( Next parent POV... Nat...